EPA asks full court to rehear air pollution case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday asked a U.S. appeals court to rehear a case in which a three-judge panel struck down a rule that would reduce harmful emissions from coal-burning power plants.

The EPA filed an "en banc" petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which in August ruled 2-1 to suspend the agency's cross state air pollution rule and ordered it rewritten.

The EPA rule targeted sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants, ensuring that emissions in one state do not travel downwind to increase pollution in neighboring states.